


Halloween 2

by insideabunker



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Brother-Sister Relationships, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy Ending, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Haunted Houses, Hurt/Comfort, Trick or Treating, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 07:10:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12601084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insideabunker/pseuds/insideabunker
Summary: It's that time of year again!  Three years later, Lexa and Clarke are back in their hometown to take Aden and his friends trick or treating.  With a bunch of mischievous nine-year-olds running around and some haunted house hijinks, will Lexa be able to ask her girlfriend the question she's had on her mind?





	Halloween 2

**Got a prompt for a sequel to Halloween.  Hopefully, this will help with people’s post-holiday funk.  Enjoy!**

* * *

**Halloween, three years later...**   


"Can't we make it scarier?"

Aden examined himself in the hallway mirror, checking over his shoulder to make sure that his sister had heard.

Lexa set her jaw, her brow furrowing with consternation as she eyed her nine-year-old brother skeptically.  "I don't know buddy. Don't you think you're overdoing it a little?"

Aden frowned.  He fidgeted with his costume, turning back to the mirror to reexamine the elaborate makeup that Clarke had spent the last hour applying to his face.

[[MORE]]

"Jackson McCarthy's dad bought him a mask that he can pump up, so it drips blood from the top.  I can't let him have a better costume than me, Lexa.  I have to be scarier."

"Aden, if we make you look any scarier you're going to frighten the younger kids."

Her brother sighed, making his best puppy dog eyes as he stared into the mirror.  "Can I just have just a little more blood on my face?  Please, Lexa!"

Lexa sighed, too weak to the boy's pleading to ever say no.

"Fine, but just a little, and no more bothering Clarke after this. She's already worked on your costume for over an hour. You ought to be giving her overtime at this rate."

"What's overtime?"  Aden spun on his heels, his face radiant with triumph.

"Don't worry about it."  Lexa ruffled his tousled mane of ginger hair, nearly every square inch of it coated in fake blood.

"Did I hear someone say something about overtime?"

The kitchen door swung open, and Clarke made her way into the living room, her hands juggling several mugs of hot, mulled cider.  

"Mister man has decided he's not quite meeting the Halloween terror quota expected by Marblehead's 3rd-grade elite."

Lexa winked at her tiny, redheaded brother, eliciting only a perturbed scowl in response. She playfully stuck her tongue out at the scrawny boy.

Clarke set the mugs down on the coffee table and promptly turned her attention to Aden, grasping his chin with her delicate dexterous fingers as she thoughtfully contemplated his appearance.

"He's right. Something is missing."

"See!"  Aden gestured emphatically at his older sister.  "I told you!"

Clarke smiled over at her girlfriend, mischief radiating from every corner of her expression.  "Aw, was your big sister being a spoilsport again?"

Lexa rolled her eyes.  "Don't you start that.  I was merely trying to point out that his costume might scare younger trick or treaters."

Clarke smiled, examining the side of Aden's chiseled jaw, identical in strength and angle to his sister's.  "Hmm," she stared at her handiwork, examining it for flaws.  "It needs something."

She bit her lip, thinking hard.  "I've still got a little face putty and paint left." She stroked the bottom left corner of Aden's jaw. "I think if we added an avulsion right here it would look killer."

"What's an avulsion?"  The boy's brow furrowed in confusion as he sounded out the unfamiliar word, tripping on the consonants.  He looked at his sister for clarification.

Lexa rolled her eyes.  "It's like a big scrape."  Thinking better of her reply, she bit her lip nervously, glancing over at Clarke.  "Isn't it?"

The blonde chuckled to herself, shaking her head as she walked over to her girlfriend of three years.

"Something like that."  

She kissed Lexa's cheek and snaked her arms around her slim torso, tucking herself into the brunette's sweater-clad side.

A moment later the front door opened and a harried-looking Joe Woods strode into the front hall, his briefcase overflowing with midterm exams that needed grading, a folder full of term tucked under his arm.  As soon as he spied the group gathered around the mirror, he lit up, dropping his bag by the umbrella stand next to the door and casting the folder aside on the nearby console table.

"Great Scott!  My boy has become one of the undead!"

Aden spun around, nearly flying out of his sneakers as he sprinted over to showcase the costume to his father.

"Dad! Dad!"  He jumped up and down spinning around like a whirling dervish in front of Joe.  "Clarke gave me zombie makeup!  Isn't it cool?"

Joe examined the tiny whirling boy.  Elaborate makeup covered him, giving his skin a ghostly pallor, and here and there putty and paint had been expertly applied, making him look as though he'd had an unfortunate encounter with the business end of a lawnmower.

"You look fantastic, buddy!"

Joe looked over at his daughter, casting a warm and appreciative smile at the girl contentedly cuddled into her side.

"Once again, Miss Griffin, you've proven yourself to be an invaluable asset to this family."  He eyed his daughter mischievously.  "I think we might just have to keep you around permanently.  Wouldn't you say so, Lexa?"

The comment elicited a flattered blush from the Clarke, who burrowed deeper into Lexa's, narrowly missing the playful wink that Joe gave his daughter.

Lexa stared her father down sternly, eyes fixed, jaw clenching in a silent plea for him to proceed with discretion.  She hugged Clarke tighter, kissing the top of her head before replying.  "Absolutely."

Satisfied with the ribbing he'd given his firstborn, Joe relinquished his teasing.  He placed a hand on Aden’s back and began guiding the boy toward the kitchen door. "Come on, kiddo. It smells like your mom's up to her old pumpkin gingersnap tricks.  Let's see if she need taste testers."

As he passed, Joe gave Lexa a final wink for good measure, mouthing something and pointing to his left hand, an act that elicited an exasperated glare from his daughter.

Alone for the first time that afternoon, Lexa seized the opportunity to shower Clarke with a bit of much-deserved affection.  She closed her arms around the shorter girl's waist, pulling her up until their foreheads were resting against one another.

"Hi."

"Hi."  

"You know you didn't have to go through all that trouble."

"It was no trouble."

Lexa pulled Clarke closer still, pushing her nose into the towheaded mess the was her girlfriend, after a long week of advanced anatomy classes.

"Woman, you spent all afternoon doing his makeup."

Clarke smiled lazily, punch drunk on the blissful feeling of being reunited with her girlfriend after two grueling weeks of academic overload that had kept their contact limited to phone calls and Skype.  She buried her face in the crook of the brunette's neck, inhaling the intoxicating scents of black soap and cologne that always lingered on Lexa.

"I missed you."

Lexa furrowed her nose into Clarke's hair, kissing the top of her head like it was a religious talisman.  "Me too.  I hate our schedules."

"It's only..."

"For the next four years?"  Lexa sighed into the blonde mane, exhaling a breath that carried the weight of an uncertain future and dueling sets of ambitions on it.

"I just," Lexa paused, trying to collect herself before she spoke.  "How long before things even out for us?"

Clarke finally looked up, gazing at the brunette with a mix of steadfast resilience and quiet determination.  "Hey," she rubbed soothing circles into the small of Lexa's back as she spoke.  "It takes as long as it takes."

Slowly, roaming eyes gave way to wandering hands that pushed underneath shirts and wantonly explored soft expanses of skin.  Lips found lips, and tender, delicate kisses became needy and incautious. They broke apart for a moment, faces flushed, lungs desperate for air.

"You know..."  Lexa began backing them towards the stair carefully, high on possibilities and desperate to capitalize on the opportunity to get them up to her bedroom, and out of their clothes.

"We haven't been alone, in two weeks." She paused wiggling her eyebrows.  "I was thinking..."

She was cut off by needy lips and a probing tongue as determined hands continued pushing her towards the staircase.  Clarke's steps were bold, her demeanor resolute.

"Me too."  She broke away for a moment, her voice low and licentious as she nodded towards the second floor.

Lexa turned, barely placing her foot on the bottom step before the kitchen door swung wide, and wild Aden bounded back into the living room.

"Clarke, can we finish my makeup now?"

Oblivious to the moment he'd just shanghaied, the nine-year-old gave Clarke his best puppy dog eyes.

Unable to resist the tiny boy tugging her shirt sleeve, Clarke gave Lexa an apologetic look, silently mouthing the words "later" to her frustrated girlfriend.  Lexa let out a prolonged groan.

"Fine."  She shot her baby brother a serious look.  "But I get her back in half an hour.  Is that understood, mister?"

Aden grabbed the blonde's hand, rolling his eyes as he pulled her away to continue crafting the elaborate zombie makeup.  "Okay, Lexa. Jeeze!"

Clarke looked over her shoulder at Lexa as the tiny boy lead her towards the bathroom. She winked at her girlfriend, mouthing what appeared to be the words "twenty minutes" as she pointed to the upstairs.

Lexa watched as her brother and girlfriend disappeared down the hallway, impatiently groaning as she turned on her heels and headed towards the staircase.  Just before she made her way up, she grabbed her sweatshirt off the banister and thrust her hand into the pocket, making sure its contents were still there.  With anxious fingers she grabbed the small, velvet box, reassuring herself that it had remained safely tucked inside on the car ride up from Boston. Lexa pulled the box out momentarily, nervously staring at the contents before she closed it again and stashed it back inside the hoodie.

* * *

Clarke stretched languidly, curling into the naked body behind her as she burrowed lower in the soft bedsheets and old, puffy comforter.  Warm breath and a smooth set of lips pressed against her shoulder, and she rolled over, staring at her girlfriend's sleepy, smug face, freshly sexed and thoroughly sated.

"I'm not letting you leave this room until we've done that at least four more times."

The medical student smiled lazily, burying her face in her girlfriend's chest.  She ran the back of a finger along toned abs and over the crest of a hip.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Definitely. Four times, maybe five."

"Pace yourself, Casanova," Clarke laughed into the space between the brunette's breasts. "We've got all weekend."

Lexa frowned, pulling the covers over them to block out the fading light from the late afternoon sun.  She searched in the darkness of the cocoon of bedsheets, finding lips and capturing them in a brief kiss.

"I hate that you're all the way up in New Hampshire."

"I know, Babe," Clarke sighed running the pads of her fingers over her girlfriend's cheek.  "But, we knew this was a possibility when I applied to medical school.  I had to go to the best program I got accepted to."

She ran a hand through the mane of messy brown curls attached to the budding engineer, brushing it away from her eyes.  "At least it's only New Hampshire.  It could have been worse.  It could have been Pennsylvania."

She kissed Lexa's nose. "It could have been Illinois." She kissed her eyelids. "It could have been California."

Lexa sighed, silently acknowledging the truth of Clarke's words.  "I know."  She pulled her a little closer, enjoying the warmth that her girlfriend's body radiated.  Whereas she was always cold, Clarke was like a miniature furnace, her skin perpetually glowing, her cheeks permanently rosy.

"I just miss you is all. It's hard to get used to."

Clarke nodded. "Speaking of things that are hard to get used to." Her fingers moved lower, dangling suggestively on Lexa's upper thigh.  "I noticed that you weren't such a fan of somebody's costume choice this year."

The brunette shifted uncomfortably, groaning.  "I just don't understand why Aden wants to look so gory.  He was always terrified of zombies before he started hanging out with that Jackson McCarthy kid."

Clarke's hand snaked over the top of a leg and cupped backside.  "He's wasn't going to want to dress up in Jedi robes and wave lightsabers around forever. He's getting older, Lexa. He wants to impress his friends."

Lexa frowned.  "Well, I don't like it."

"You don't like change very much, do you?"

"It's possible."  Before Clarke could tease her any further, Lexa had rolled them over, pinning the aspiring doctor underneath her.

"Can we talk about something else?"

Clarke grinned a Cheshire cat smile as she squeezed ass and ran her lips along neck and chin, making her way to her Lexa's ear.

"We don't have to talk at all."

* * *

Lexa almost jumped as a pint-sized gang of the undead came roaring past her, nearly knocking her off her feet, and breaking her grip on Clarke's hand.

"Hey!  Watch it."

"Sorry!"  One of the over-excited youngsters turned back briefly to issue the hasty apology as he sprinted after his friends, all headed in the direction of the nearest front door.

"Remind me why we have to chaperone all of them again?" Clarke slipped her hand back into Lexa's, rolling her eyes as the overzealous band of third-grade boys swarmed a woman passing out miniature candy from a large wooden bowl.

"Aden got invited to go trick-or-treating with his friends, but he's never gone without me.  He was worried about it, and they needed an adult to supervise them, so when Jackson's father mentioned that he couldn't do it this year..."

"You volunteered so Aden wouldn't lose face with his friend." Clarke finished the thought, giving her girlfriend a knowing smile.  "If I weren't cold and my feet didn't ache, I'd say this is one of the things I love most about you."

"My willingness to use children as an excuse to collect free candy?"

Clarke shoved the brunette playfully.  "Obviously, I meant how much you love your little brother."

Lexa let her girlfriend's hand slip from her grasp, sliding an arm around the shorter girl's waist as she pulled Clarke closer to her.

"I'm sorry you’re cold.  I promise we'll head back soon."

Clarke nodded, settling into Lexa as she began running a hand over her arm to keep her warm.  "Don't worry about it.  They're having fun.  We can stay out a little longer."

They followed behind the group for a few more houses, watching as the boys repeatedly thrust buckets and pillowcases towards beleaguered adults.

As they reached the end of the block, they approached a scruffy looking man in a flannel jacket and jeans, accompanied by a girl in an orange jumpsuit, white vest, and flight helmet.  With the man waiting on the sidewalk, the little girl made her way toward a house at the end of the street, merging with the boys before they could reach the front door.

"What are you wearing?" Jackson McCarthy's unmistakably smart-alecky voice bellowed from underneath a mask that did indeed drip blood when activated with a hand pump.

Undeterred by Jackson's mocking, the girl pointed at the patches on her helmet, as if the logo should be unmistakable to them.

"I'm an x-wing pilot."

"Girls can't be x-wing pilots!"  Jackson proclaimed loudly, sending the other boys into a fit of laughter.

"Yes, they can!"  The little girl stepped forward, unwilling to concede the point.  "There was a girl pilot in The Force Awakens."

"Well, I don't remember seeing one."

"There were."  The girl's voice seethed frustration, her face reddening as she clenched her jaw in annoyance.

Lexa and Clarke watched for a moment, debating whether to intervene.

"Lexa, maybe you should..."

"Yeah."

Lexa stepped in between the quarreling elementary schoolers, holding up a hand in front of Jackson.

"That's enough Jackson.  Girls can be whatever...."

"No, there weren't!  Girls can't be X-wing pilots!"  Jackson spat, his voice abruptly taking on a venomous tone.

"Yes, there were." Aden's voice was nearly inaudible as he stepped forward shyly. "I saw that movie three times.  I remember seeing her."

He scrapped at the sidewalk with the toe of his shoe, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with his friend.

The group was momentarily silent, the group of boys unsure how to respond given the mutiny in their ranks.  Finally, Jackson groaned, crossing his arms as he broke his staring contest with the little girl.

"Whatever."

He turned towards Lexa, looking bored.  "I'm sick of trick-or-treating.  My dad promised we could go to the haunted house on Cedar Street before we went home."

Lexa's brow furrowed.  "I don't know what your dad said buddy, but..."

"My parents said I could go too!"

"Mine too!"

One by one, that gaggle of boys all chimed in confirming their parent's approval, all but a nervous looking Aden.  Lexa gritted her teeth, annoyed that Mr. McCarthy had neglected to mention the detail to her before she'd agreed to play chaperone.

"Guys, Cedar Street is eight blocks away from here, and it's getting late, I don't think..."

A chorus a "pleases" rang out over and over, echoing down the suburban street, desperate and insistent.

Lexa stared up at the darkened night sky in frustration.  "Fine!" We can go, but only if everyone wants to."

She looked over at Aden, who continued to toe the ground apprehensively.

"Is there anyone who doesn't want to go?"

Aden glanced up at his sister briefly, but remained silent, stoically refusing to admit his trepidation.

"Clarke?" The engineer glanced over at her girlfriend, hoping for more resistance than the defeated shrug she received. "Don't look at me.  I'm not going to be the bad guy on this one. If Mr. McCarthy promised them, I think we're stuck."

Lexa groaned, reluctant to fully accepting her fate, and resign herself to the long, cold walk to Cedar Street.

"Fine, I'm calling your parents on the way there to make sure they're okay with this."

The boys cheered, rushing ahead of their caretakers in a frenzy of triumphant whoops and hollers.  Aden lingered, staring at the girl in the orange jumpsuit.

"Hey, Madi."

The girl stepped out from behind Lexa, appearing pleased to have a moment along with the nine-year-old zombie.

"Hi, Aden."  She gave him a demure smile and a half-hearted wave.  "Thanks for saying that."

Aden shrugged.  "You were right."

The two stared at each other for a moment, smiling bashfully though neither one said a word. Lexa looked on, dumbfounded by the children's seemingly strange interaction.  Unsure of what to do, Lexa approached slowly and nudged her brother on the shoulder.

"Hey buddy, we should catch up with your friends."

Suddenly reoriented to the world around him, Aden looked around, quickly realizing that he'd become separated from his companions.  Uncertain what to say, the boy ran a hand through his hair.  He tugged at it haphazardly, the fake blood making it stand up on end.

"Um, I gotta go.  See you at school?"

The little X-wing pilot nodded eagerly, giving Aden a wide grin.  "Have fun at the haunted house, Aden."

"Okay. Bye, Madi."  

With that, he took off in the direction of his friends, turning around as he ran to yell a final goodbye over his over his shoulder.

"I like your costume!"

Lexa, still confused by the awkward exchange she'd just witnessed, grabbed Clarke's hand and began leading them toward their young charges.  She shook her head, bewildered by why her brother would just stand there saying nothing.

"Well, that was kind of weird."

Clarke looked over at her girlfriend, her brow furrowed in befuddlement.  "Don't you think so?"

The medical student smiled, leaning against Lexa's shoulder as they walked.  "Not at all?"

"You don't think it was strange that they just stood there staring at each other and not saying anything."

"You know, for someone so brilliant you can be pretty clueless."

"About what? I don't get it."

"Babe, they probably like each other.  Aden, at least, obviously has a crush on that girl."

Lexa frowned, her nose wrinkling in skepticism.  "What?  No! Aden's only nine. He doesn't even notice girls."

Clarke just smiled, shaking her head.  She craned her neck up and kissed Lexa on the cheek, huddling against her side to ward off the chilly night air.  "Whatever you say, Babe."

* * *

As predicted, the haunted house had been a nightmare.  Upon arrival, it was clear that half the boys were scared out of their wits, though none so much as Aden, who cowered behind his sister as they waited in line. In spite of Lexa's persistent urging to reconsider, Aden, thoroughly goaded by the insufferable McCarthy boy, had insisted on participating.

When it was their turn to enter, Lexa had taken one step inside and immediately realized just how far in over their heads the boys were.  The annual neighborhood attraction had managed to outdoor itself, with the year's theme appearing to be, somewhat appropriately, zombie outbreak hospital crisis.  Walking dead popped out of every corner and attempted to bite passers-by.  Bloody orderlies lay in hallways where the emergency lights blinked on and off, their faces already half eaten away, crying for people to help them. Nurses stumbled out of treatment rooms covering oozing bite marks, and one unfortunate doctor dragged himself through a doorway screaming "Save me!" as the zombie inside ate the remains of his freshly severed legs.  It was all terrifyingly realistic if you were a nine year old.

Precisely three steps into the misadventure and the boys had all latched on to Lexa's arms and legs, gripping her wherever they could and holding on as though she were a life raft. Jackson McCarthy had managed to bury his entire head in her side. Half of them had their eyes screwed shut or covered, and every few seconds, one boy or another would squeak out, “Are we almost out yet?”

The house couldn't have taken them more than fifteen minutes, but the whole horrifying odyssey felt like hours. Not until Lexa announced that they were approaching the exit did the boys loosened their grips on her. Finally outside, most of the young men immediately let go of Lexa, dropping her arms as quickly as possible before anyone was the wiser.  She shook her arms and legs to get the circulation going again and followed them out into the dark as they swaggered down the walkway of the house, murmuring to classmates as they passed how cool the experience had been. “That was awesome," Jackson McCarthy beamed as he strode past a group of girls from his class. "I can't wait to do it again next year!"

Meanwhile, poor Aden was still clinging to his sister for dear life, panting as though he'd just been pulled up from the bottom of a pool.  Clarke, thinking quickly, pulled him around the side of the building where he could burst into hysterics in private, something he promptly proceeded to do. Ten minutes of tears and hasty scientific explanations regarding the impossibility of zombie outbreaks later, Clarke and Aden had finally returned, explaining away their absence away with the pretense of an impromptu bathroom break.

Nearly an hour later, their duty complete, their wards safely back in the hands of their respective parents, Lexa, Clarke, and Aden padded down the winding road back to the Woods house.  The streets had thinned out considerably, the youngest of the night's revelers having long since gone to bed.  Only a small handful of older children remained now, and the few teenagers who perched ominously on a nearby street corner, undoubtedly waiting for the streets to clear out before they began snatching up pumpkins to smash.

Clarke squeezed her girlfriend's shoulder lightly, pointing at Aden.  Lexa looked down, taken aback by how sullen her younger brother seemed in the wake of the traumatic haunted house escapade. She gestured for Clarke to give them a moment, waiting until the blonde had walked well ahead of them to speak.

"Hey, Buddy."

Aden trudged along wordlessly beside her, his eyes fixed on his feet.

"You know you could have just stayed outside with Clarke."

"I know."

"So why didn't you?"

He shrugged dejectedly.

Recognizing the importance of the teachable moment at hand, Lexa raked her brain for the appropriate advice to give the traumatized boy.  "You know you don't always have to do what your friends are doing."

He shrugged again, still refusing to look at her.  "I know."

"Aden..."  She stopped them, crouching down as she placed her hands on Aden's shoulders.

"Why didn't you just say you didn't want to go in?"

Aden finally looked at his sister, his eyes betraying that he was holding back tears.  "I didn't want Jackson to think I was scared."

"Why does it matter what Jackson thinks?"

Aden sniffed, wiping at his eyes as they began to water over.  "Because I want to be his friend.  All the boys in my grade think he's cool.  Everybody's been teasing me because I'm the smallest guy in my grade, and I thought if I made friends with Jackson, they'd leave me alone."

In spite of how badly she felt for her brother, Lexa tried hard not to laugh.  "Buddy, I'm sorry people are teasing you. I know it's tough being smaller than your classmates, but you were sick for a whole year.  You've got a lot of catching up to do, but one day you're going to be as big as anyone else, trust me."

Lexa smiled, running her fingers through Aden's matted hair.

"And as far as Jackson goes, I don't think everybody thinks he's cool. The reason other boys follow him around and do what he says is that he's a bully. They're intimidated by him.  There's a difference between that and being friends with someone."

She paused, suddenly realizing something.

"Is that why you're interested in all this zombie stuff all of a sudden?  Was this all about trying to make friend with Jackson?"

Aden nodded glumly, fighting back more tears.  "He likes that stuff, so I told him I liked it too.  I wanted to impress him."

Lexa looked at the tiny boy, wiping away his zombie makeup where tears had caused it to smudge.  "Well I don't know about that, but I do think you impressed someone tonight."

Aden cocked his head to the side, puzzled as to who he could have impressed after falling to pieces outside the haunted house.  "What do you mean?"

"I think that Madi girl was pretty impressed that you stood up to Jackson the way you did."

Aden pursed his lips, thinking carefully.  "I mean, Madi was right, and Jackson was wrong.  I just agreed with her."

"True, but sometimes it takes a lot of courage to disagree with your friends when you know they are wrong."

"Really?"  His eyebrows knit together, as though the idea were the most preposterous thing he'd ever heard.

"Of course.  I didn't see anyone one else correcting Jackson.  Did you?"

Aden shrugged.  "I guess not."

The pair began walking again, content to meander along in comfortable silence. Lexa smiled as she felt Aden's fingertips brush against her's, giddy that her brother still wanted to hold her hand every once in a while.  Her thoughts wandered to a time when the small but meaningful gesture hadn't been such a rarity.

"Lexa?"

Aden's hesitant voice broke the engineer from her nostalgia, startling her.

"Yeah?"

Her brother bit his lip nervously.  "How do you know if you love someone?"

Lexa gulped, blindsided by the question.  "Well... Um..."

Aden continued to look at her expectantly as she searched for an answer, her mind suddenly a total blank.

"I mean..." She paused, swinging in the sinking feeling that Clarke may have been right earlier. "Kiddo, is there any particular reason you're asking that question?"

He shrugged, avoiding her knowing gaze as best he could.  "Not really."

Lexa continued to rack her brain for valuable advice, settling on the only answer she had that was both sensible and honest.

"Well, I can tell you how I knew I loved Clarke."

He nodded, anxious for her to elaborate.

"At first it was little things.  I would notice stuff that Clarke did even if it didn't seem that important."

Lexa blushed remembering how, as a teenager, she'd barely been able to talk to the girl who she'd now been dating for three years.

"After a while, I realized that I was thinking about her a lot, even when she wasn't around.  When she was around, I would get nervous, so nervous that I didn't know what to say to her.

Aden nodded.  "I never know what to say to Madi."

And there it was, proof that Clarke's hunch has been correct.  Lexa groaned internally, knowing that a well deserved "I told you so," was headed her way.

"So, does that mean you like Madi?"

"I guess," he shrugged. "Madi is always nice to me. She saves a seat for me every morning in homeroom, and she gives me one of her cookies every afternoon at lunch."

He paused, smiling wistfully.  "And she likes Star Wars."

Aden beamed up at his sister. "I like Madi a lot."

Lexa smiled, nudging her brother playfully.  "Well, it sure sounds like it." She paused, "but, you know there's a difference between liking someone and loving them."

Aden screwed up his face, sure that he'd missed something. "What's the difference?"

Lexa opened her mouth to issue a reply but found herself wanting.  She considered the question carefully, settling on the only honest answer she had.

"I guess the difference is that when you love someone, you're willing to put their needs before your own."

The two walked in silence for the next few minutes. Every few minutes, Clarke would check over her shoulder to make sure they were alright, and Lexa would hold up a finger, indicating they needed a few more minutes alone.

Lexa waited patiently for Aden to talk to her, hoping the boy would provide more insight into his crush on Madi.  Aden finally looked up at her, considering his older sister carefully before he spoke.

"Lexa, are you going to ask Clarke to marry you?"

Lexa nearly dropped his hand, so stunned by the question that she couldn't get out a word in reply.  He heart raced, and her palms perspired as she tried to wrap her head around how Aden knew.

"Aden, did somebody tell you to ask me that?"

He shook his head.

"When dad and I were testing mom's cookie's this afternoon I heard dad tell her that you were gonna 'put a ring on it.'  I thought that's what that means."

Lexa thought about it for a moment, deciding that her brother was old enough that he could be trusted with her secret.

"Buddy if I tell you this then you can't say anything.  It's supposed to be a secret."

Aden nodded his silent understanding, doing his best to look serious and grown up.

"Alright then, it's true.  I'm going to ask her this weekend."

Aden smiled.  "I'm glad you're gonna marry Clarke.  She's nice, and she makes good jokes, and she held my hand during the scary parts when you took me to see Rogue One.  Plus, she makes you smile a lot when she's around, and she's good at doing Halloween makeup. "

"Indeed.  She's the full package."

* * *

Eyes screwed shut, hands grasping at hair and bedsheets, Clarke bit her lip, desperately trying not to make sounds that would wake the rest of the sleeping household.  Finger pushed as muscles clenched and backs arched, and for a moment the world was black and starry.   Clarke regained her senses as she felt lips press gently against the inside of her thigh. A body shifted, settling between her legs.

"Like I said, four times, maybe five."

Clarke laughed. "I hate how good you are at that."

"No, you don't." Lexa smiled resting her head on her girlfriend's stomach as she tried to catch her breath.

"I really don't."

Clarke shook her head, running a hand into the mess of wild brown hair strewn across her stomach and pushing it off Lexa's sweaty forehead.  

"I love you."

Lexa smiled, kissing her just above her navel and breathing contentedly into the soft skin of her belly.  "I love you too."

She lay there for a while, basking in the afterglow, exhausted and unwilling to move until Clarke pushed at her shoulder.

"Ok, I need to put clothes on."

"No, no clothes."  Lexa grabbed at Clarke's waist, dragging her back into the bed as she reached for a pile of clothes on the floor.

"Yes, clothes.  You don't have a lock on your door, and there's a terrified nine-year-old asleep just down the hallway.  I don't want this to turn into New Year's Eve all over again.

Lexa rolled her eyes.  "That was two years ago.  Aden got scared of the fireworks, and besides, he hasn't had bad dreams in forever."

Clarke furrowed her brow.  "Lexa... Clothes, now."

The brunette sighed, relinquishing her hold on Clarke's waist and falling back in bed, as her girlfriend began grabbing discarded shirts off the floor.

Clarke tossed a t-shirt and a pair of underwear at Lexa, picking up a loose pair of sweats that had been hung over the back of a chair.

"Babe, can you pass me some shorts?"

Lexa began shimmying on the clothes and looked up, realizing a moment too late that Clarke had just slipped on her sweatshirt, and was now fumbling with something in the pocket.

"Shit."

Clarke pulled a velvet box from inside the sweatshirt, her eyes growing wide as she realized what she was holding.

"Lex..."

Lexa froze, panic-stricken, and unable to look anywhere but at the box in her girlfriend's hand.

"Um... I..."

"Is this..."

"This wasn't how I was planning on asking you."

Clarke covered her mouth with a hand, her eyes watering.

Rising from the bed, Lexa walked over, taking the box from Clarke's open hand and throwing a pair of sweatpants on. She knelt down in front of the blonde

"Clarke, I've been head over heels for you since I was fourteen, and my only regret is that it took me as long as it did to tell you that.  I know I complain a lot about you being up in New Hampshire and me being here in Boston, but I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere."

She beamed up at the tearful blonde, trying to remain composed as she stumbled through the rest of her speech.

"I want to be with you, and if that means moving up to New Hampshire or relocating when you start your residency, I can do that.  All I ask is that you let me do that as your wife.  Clarke Abigail Griffin, will you marry me?

Clarke didn't speak a word.  She nodded silently, tears streaming down her face as she pulled Lexa to her feet and kissed her with absolute abandon.

By the time Lexa pulled away, both of them had disintegrated into tears, so lost in the moment that they barely noticed the boy standing in the doorway.

"Can I sleep in here tonight?"

The women jumped, startled by the tiny intruder. Lexa wiped her eyes quickly, well aware of the self-satisfied look Clarke was currently shooting her.

"Did you have a nightmare buddy?"

Aden nodded, hugging the doorframe pathetically as he stared at his older sister. She sighed, resting her forehead against Clarke's.

"If it's ok with you, babe."

Clarke smiled happily, drying the last of her tears on the sleeve of Lexa's sweatshirt.  "It's fine with me."

With that, the little boy sprung from the doorway, dashing to the bed and diving under the covers.  Clarke shook her head, and settled against Lexa's body, giving the brunette a final kiss.

"Next year no dragging your brother and girlfriend to a haunted house, ok?"

"Next year I won't be dragging my girlfriend."

With that, they made their way to the bed and settled in.  Lexa felt Aden snuggle into one of her sides as Clarke settled against the other.  She reached over, turned off the light, unable to keep the smile from her face.

  
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